Image via Alexander Belenkiy

It was just six months ago that the isolated resort area of Rosa Khutor bustled with the frenzy of wandering world travelers and local Olympic enthusiasts. According to incredible images, the current ghost town now only houses memories.

Business Insider’s Tony Manfred reports on the apparent fate of one of the more famed locations during this past 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

Thanks to Russian photographer Alexander Belenkiy and his amazing photographs on his Live Journal, we now have further proof that the crowds and fervor all too frequently disappear at Olympic locales the second the games end.

Here is another image from Belenkiy.

It took six months, but Sochi is now a ghost town.

Truly, it’s a fate that befalls many an Olympic host, so you can’t fault Russian organizers too much for the sight of resort areas gathering dust. Take a quick peek at Athens to truly see what just a decade can do to once majestic stadiums and arenas.

Now it does seem in various images that there are tourists and/or locals hanging around the area that sits near the town of Krasnaya Polyana. And the hope is that winter brings snow in tandem with a multitude of visitors.

Still, Belenkiy states there is a sizable downturn in attendance. Manfred translated the photographer and writes, “the shops, restaurants, and hotels were operating at 5 pecent capacity and that he encountered only a handful of tourists on the streets.”

Now I had the amazing opportunity to spend a week in Rosa Khutor during the Olympics, enjoying the resort area at the apex of its use.

This was an area that served those staying in the mountains, shuttling fans and visitors to the alpine events during the Winter Games.

Now the town wasn’t nearly as frantic as Adler (where the arena events took place), but it was most definitely packed.

You really couldn’t ask for a more beautiful hotel stay, nor could you ask for a more festive crowd. People were jubilant and enthusiastic, walking the streets with smiles as Olympic results poured in.

Obviously, you knew this would be the last this area would see of such a sight. You just can’t replicate something that special. Still, it’s shocking to see resorts that cost so much reduced to a mere afterthought.

Deep in the mountains beyond Sochi, a group of hotels once housed a bevy of travelers, workers and Olympic staff. Although, you wouldn’t think so to look at it now. 

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